People and Language Detail Profile

Profile Year: Language Name: ISO Language Code:

2012 Indian Sign Language ins

The Deaf Community of India The Indian Sign Language Community There are about 12.3 million people in India with moderate to complete hearing loss. Only four and a half million of these would not be able to succeed in a school for hearing but could obtain an education in a school for the deaf if available. These deaf would then be exposed to sign language and might become part of the Deaf community. The Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a language of broader communication in most metropolitan areas in India and may be the mother tongue among the Deaf in several of these metropolitan areas. Previously it has been thought that the Deaf of India speak various dialects of ISL. But current research among Bengali and other Deaf communities shows that in many places the Deaf use a completely different language. Those who can, try to use ISL with researchers because it is more prestigious, but most in these communities do not know ISL at all. There are 478 schools receiving government funding and approximately 372 private schools for the deaf scattered throughout India. Most of these schools use the “oral approach” in the classroom. It is a rare school that uses signs in the classroom. Rural Indian Deaf often do not receive an education due the distance that must be traveled to go to school and to being needed as laborers at home. Primary Religion: Hinduism ____________________________________________________________

Disciples (Matt 28:19): 0.01% ____________________________________________________________

Churches: 80 _____________________________________________________________

Scripture Status (Matt 28:20): No Scripture ____________________________________________________________

Population (date): Potentially 4,500,000 (2012) ____________________________________________________________

Most of the major organizations, gatherings, and schools for the Deaf are in the larger urban areas. Many migrate to the cities for education and jobs. Jobs are likely to be either unskilled or a manual trade. Male Indian Deaf are more likely to go to school and to stay in school longer than females. There are about sixty-five evangelical Deaf churches or Christian fellowships in India, but they are mostly in the larger cities. The Deaf would benefit from a Bible training program that is geared to their needs. One organization has started such a training program in India. There is a need for qualified interpreters in medical fields, businesses and offices. CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) serve as interpreters in most parts of the world. In India, however, CODA's usually are unqualified or unwilling to be interpreters. Deaf parents tend to give hearing children to their grandparents to raise and many CODA's do not admit to having deaf parents.

The Deaf Community of India______________________________________ Have They Heard The Gospel? Call Themselves Christian

0.01%

Believe In Jesus As God & Only Savior

0.01%

Prophet/Good Man, But Not God's Son

0.1%

Believe In The Local Traditional Religion

95%

Have Not Heard Who Jesus is

98%

Number Of Pastors

5

Comment Number Of Missionaries Working Comment

Approximately 5 ordained pastors 30 Expatriate missionaries-approximately 10

Total national missionaries

Total 30; Expatriate 10. National workers 20

Total local workers

300; very few missionaries

Response To The Gospel

The Indian Deaf generally have the same values and religious practices as their families.

Comment (Number Communities)

Number Of Churches Comment

The 1991 census estimated 630,000 cities, towns and villages in India (Babu 2001). Over 50% of these should have some form of a Deaf community. 80 Approximately 65 Evangelical, 10 Catholic, 8 Mormon and 5 other.

Is The Word Of God Translated?

Sign Language is a visual language, and most deaf struggle with written languages. To date there are no translations in Indian Sign Language.

Translation Medium

Signed DVD or other visual medium

Any Hindrance To Scripture Distribution?

Among deaf children, only 2% attend school and of them only a few attain adequate reading skills. Thus the majority of the Indian deaf could not read a written Bible, even if they had one. Like the culture at large, most Indian Deaf live in extended family households. Since most of their families would disown any member who claims Christ, many deaf Christians are secretly so at home. Any open display such as Scripture reading at home could mean personal persecution and sacrifice of their whole structure of support and living.

Forms Of Gospel Presentation Available

Recordings: No, Literature : No, Films/videos: No, Radio: N/A Literature is not available in sign language but is available in the major spoken languages. Some films may have a translator signing on the film, but this is very rare in India. Around 2000, the Jesus film was interpreted into the dialect of Indian Sign Language used in Hyderabad and inserted as an inset onto the film.

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ What Kind Of Missionaries Are Needed?

Evangelism: A few Indian Deaf Christians are quite motivated, but the numbers to be reached are astronomical. Church Planting: Of 3,768 urban centers (1991census) only 50 - 70 of these have a church or Christian fellowship for the Deaf. Discipleship training of Deaf leaders with the goal of some becoming pastors of Deaf congregations Teachers of the local sign language to unexposed deaf Interpreters: Pastors and lay leaders who are qualified to work with the Deaf are often called to act as interpreters. That can be very time consuming and tiring for them.

Media: Currently, there is one 10-minute weekly news program interpreted into the Delhi regional sign language. Bible translators Audiologists are needed in most cities to test for hearing loss and do preventative teaching. Education on AIDS, sex and how to say "no" is needed (Patil and Gopinath 1998). A few deaf teams have been educated about the dangers of AIDS and been trained to educate other Indian Deaf. Most deaf children attending schools are provided with hearing aids, either by parents, government subsidies, or local Lion's Clubs, etc. Only 2%of deaf children attend school. Most often the Deaf are fitted with a generic, soft plastic "one size fits all" ear mold. Hearing aids are needed with custom ear molds Further survey of metropolitan areas with schools for the Deaf to assess local sign language use and whether or not the local language is a dialect or different language from ISL. Bible translators are needed.

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ Group Description Population All Countries World Population (Urban Percent) Comment

Geography & Environment Ecosystem Type

41% urban (Government of India, Ministry of Social Welfare 1981). 4.5 million Deaf potentially that would be considered part of the Deaf community and know or learn ISL if given the chance throughout India both urban and rural. Upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayan Mountains in north. (Johnstone, et. al. 2001) 45,000 different flora and 75,000 different fauna (Babu 2001est.) irrigated land: 480,000 sq. km (1993 est.)

Elevation

Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m. Highest point: Kanchen junga 8,598 m (Johnstone, et. al. 2001)

Climate

Varies from tropical monsoon in spring and summer to temperate in the winter. Higher elevations may have snow or very harsh, cold winters, depending upon the altitude. Being that the Deaf are not isolated to any single group, they span the entire country. Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromate, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land: 56%, permanent crops: 1%, permanent pastures: 4%, forests and woodland: 23% other: 16% (1993)

Comments Comments

Language & Linguistics Primary Language Comment

writing observations Indian Comment (Alternate Names) Dialects Comments are

INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE A 1991 survey identified 4,635 distinct people groups (Johnstone, et. al. 2001). Deafness would be found in any and all of these people groups; however, from an evangelical point of view, the deaf should be considered separate people groups as the majority cannot be reached with their parent's mother tongue. The vast majority of the Indian Deaf (about 76-89%) have limited signing ability. Many only have a gesture system. 11-24% of the Indian Deaf use urban sign which has been classified by Vasishta, et.al. (1979) as the Indian Sign Language (ISL). Of those that receive an education (2%), some would become fairly proficient at reading and in the language taught in their classroom. Recent research and show ISL to be a language of broader communication among the Deaf. Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (Zeshan 2000a), Urban ISL (Jepson 1991) Mumbai/Delhi, Chennai/Hyderabad. Calcutta (Kolkata) has since been classified as a dialect of a separate language. According to Vasishta, et al (1979), there are four regional varieties of Indian Sign language. Johnosn and Johnson (2008) suggests that there at least three varieties (Mumbai/Delhi, Chennai/Hyderabad, and Calcutta (Kolkata) among the five cities they surveyed. The Kolkata variety has since been classified as a dialect of a separate language (Bengali Sign Language). Most likely, there are different varieties or languages in the northeastern states (i.e., Nagaland, Assam, etc.) and the northwestern state (i.e. Jammu and Kashmir) of India. Survey in other Indian cities could yield more varieties. Great sign language diversity was observed in the city of Bangalore. Individual language use ranged from only American Sign Language to only a Bangalore dialect of ISL and different combinations thereof.

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ Attitude Towards Mother Tongue

Very receptive

Percent Monolingual

If an Indian deaf person has the opportunity to go to school or a club, then they will learn sign from their peers. Nearly all of the educated deaf are bilingual in a wider community language to some degree. A small percentage of the uneducated deaf are monolingual in the local dialect or language with varying levels of fluency. Most of the uneducated deaf have a gesture system (“home signs”) that only a few immediate family members and co-workers may understand. Monolingual, bilingual and some uneducated miming Deaf are all intermingled in urban areas. The rest of the uneducated rural deaf may have separate monolingual Deaf communities in their own villages.

Second Languages Comment

English and 18 other scheduled languages Any spoken language in a surrounding community is a second language for a deaf person. Most parents want their children to receive speech training hence the emphasis on "oral" skills at the cost of low comprehension. Spoken languages in India include: Hindi (language of Union, 40% of total population, 1991 census); English (legislative and judicial language and language of wider communication, 19% of the total population) and eighteen scheduled languages. All languages number 1,652 (1971census, Johnstone, et. al. 2001). The Ethnologue lists 407 living languages Most Deaf do not learn spoken languages well. There are possibly different languages or dialects in the Northeastern and Northwestern states of India (i.e. Assam, Nagaland, etc. and Jammu Kashmir, respectively). Other people groups speaking this language as their mother tongue may include some groups in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and/or Nepal.

Comment (On Other Mother Tongues)

Linguistically Related Languages Comments

Pakistan Sign Language, Nepali Sign Language, Bengali Sign Language Zeshan believes the sign varieties used in many large cities in India and Pakistan to be the same language, Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (2000a). Woodward (1993) states that Nepali Sign Language and Pakistani Sign Language are closely related to Indian Sign Language. The Ethnologue also states that the Bangladeshi Deaf use the Indian Sign Language; however, this has been proven incorrect and should be the Bangla Sign Language dialect of the Bengali Sign Language (current research paper in progress). Bhutanese Sign Language may also be closely related, but no reports or research on this sign language have been found.

Literacy Since 76-89% of the Indian Deaf have no language, either signed or spoken/written, the question of literacy takes two forms, sign language ability and spoken/written language knowledge. These two categories are shown separately below. Adult Literacy (ISL Fluency) Comment (Attitude to literacy)

the either family and a up their Active ISL Literacy Program

11-24% Since many deaf would need to learn sign language before they could understand any visual-medium, signed materials, acquiring sign language takes the traditional place of the need for literacy. Deaf learn the signed language or not, depending upon their exposure to Deaf community and their acceptance thereof. Many unexposed deaf go through life using only limited “home sign” gestures with few friends or band together with a small group of deaf, making own “street sign”. Sign language is taught by the Deaf in many of the Christian fellowships. In 2001, interpretive training courses were initiated in Mumbai by the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped. Branches of

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ this interpreter training course have been established in four cities across the country. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) campus in New Delhi established the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center in 2011. Publications in ISL

A word list (dictionary) of 1800+ words of signs from across the country was published in 2001 (Mani et. al 2001). Videotaped vocabulary in ISL (Delhi variety and south India variety) have been published on the internet.

Adult Literacy (Spoken/written) Comment (Attitude to literacy)

Less than 2% Some Indian Deaf are motivated to learn the skills of reading and writing a spoken language, and they may learn well enough to help in necessary community communication. A few Indian Deaf are motivated to attain a literacy level that passes secondary standardized tests with the hopes of employment.

Active Literacy Program

Literacy of the regional languages is taught in the schools for the Deaf; however, few Indian Deaf become literate in these languages.

Publications In Vernacular Comment (Literacy)

unlimited, same as surrounding hearing culture Spoken/written language literacy among the Indian Deaf is extremely low. Only 2% receive any education and even less succeed in reading. This situation is largely due to a primarily oral educational system in spoken second languages for the Indian Deaf. Men have a higher literacy rate than females because they are deemed more worthy to send to school. This attitude is magnified for the Deaf population.

Economics Subsistence Type

Agriculturalists

Average Annual Income

Approximately 80% of the total population earns roughly $250(USD) per year.

Occupation

Mostly menial jobs for the rural and lower caste. Occupations include manual labor, skilled labor / trade, technician, and professional. Products / Crafts Batik, textiles, embroidery, leather craft, stuffed animals, watches, electrical equipment, metal work, wood work

Modernization / Utilities

Telephones - main lines in use: 18.95 million (total population, 1999, Babu 2001). Few telephone communication devices (TTY's) for Deaf in India. Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.9 million SMS (Short Messaging Service) in use throughout Indian population. A few upper class Indian Deaf who can afford to pay for the service have them. Demand for communication services among the total population is growing rapidly (Babu 2001).

Television broadcast stations

Televisions

562 (1997, Babu 2001) Yet, there is no closed captioning available. The signed news program for the Deaf is only 10 minutes per week. Further more, 72% of 249 deaf persons from various regions that were interviewed in the years 2001 and 2002 reported that they did not like this program and did not understand it (authors' research 2003). 63 million (1997, Babu 2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

3 (1999, Johnstone, et. al. 2001)

Internet Usage

All internet users is 5 million. Weekly internet users total 1.6 million (Babu 2001).

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ Economy Comment

Types of Employment

Independent research on employment was performed. The study attempted to survey all the women that were found, so there is a disproportionately high number of females surveyed -more than one would normally find in clubs, schools, and workshops. Note, that this survey interviewed predominately higher status Deaf so the percentage unemployed and the percentage manual labor would be higher if all deaf were included in the survey. FEMALE Unemployed (not including students) 20 (14.3%) Student 66 (47.1%) Employed 54 (38.6%) Total 140 (100.0%) Manual labor 9 (16.4%) Skilled labor/trade 29 (52.7%) Technician 3 (5.5%) Professional 14 (25.5%) Sum 55 (100.0%) MALE Unemployed (not including students) 19 (7.9%) Student 107 (44.4%) Employed 115 (47.7%) Total 241 (100.0%) Manual labor 13 (11.5%) Skilled labor /trade 41 (36.3%) Technician 27(23.9%) Professional 32 (28.3%) Sum 113 (100.0%)

TOTAL FEMALE / MALE Unemployed (not including students) 39 (10.2%) Student 173 (45.4%) Employed 169 (44.4%) Total 381 (100.0%) Manual labor 22 (13.1%) Skilled labor /trade 70 (41.7%) Technician 30 (17.9%) Professional 46 (27.4%) Sum 168 (100.0%) Comment

Without adequate education most Deaf lack good communication skills to be employed; thus, many Deaf are without work. Microcredit enterprises should be initiated to employ Deaf. The 250 million middle class would benefit most from the market reforms and liberalization being instituted. Over 600 million live in deep poverty, and 300 million live below the bread-line. India’s widespread use of English gives the country a major advantage as its economy opens up to the world (Johnstone et. al 2001). A growing number of Indian Deaf communicate through the internet. Although this is limited to those who can write some English, have had

The Deaf Community of India___________________________________________ some computer orientation and can afford access. Probably